COLUMBIA, Mo. — There are football players who are students of the game: those with an uncommon knowledge of and knack for the sport’s intricacies. Then there are football players who set aside the game for a time to be students.
A college athlete stepping away from a sport to focus on studying has to be rare in today’s era, yeah?
“You’re definitely right about that,†Missouri quarterback Drew Pyne told the Post-Dispatch.
He would know. The signal-caller expected to back up starter Brady Cook is participating in his first practices during preseason camp after arriving via the transfer portal during the offseason.
Pyne wasn’t around Mizzou for spring ball because he wasn’t participating in spring practices anywhere. Rather, he was back at Notre Dame, where he started his collegiate career in 2020, wrapping up his degree.
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“It was a lot, being a regular student for the first time,†he said.
Pyne has a sizable college football resume, and it’s far from filled up yet. He was a backup for the Fighting Irish during the 2020 season, appearing in four games but redshirting. The 2021 campaign played out in a similar fashion, albeit with a few more passing attempts to put on tape.
He lost out on Notre Dame’s starting job at the start of the 2022 season but wound up in the role after Tyler Buchner’s season-ending injury in Week 2 of that year. Pyne finished the season with 2,021 yards, 22 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 64.6% completion percentage.
The Fighting Irish won eight games with Pyne at quarterback that season and finished ranked No. 20 in the nation, but he entered the transfer portal before their bowl game.
That led him to Arizona State, where he began the 2023 season with a hamstring injury. As the front-runner for the starting job, he took on that role when he returned but played in just two games before the Sun Devils shut him down for the season in September.
Then came another trip to the transfer portal — but first, an academic transfer back to his first school to finish his degree.
“I figured, I only had five classes left at Notre Dame,†Pyne said, “and I was recovering from an injury.â€
He delayed his decision on which football program would be his next one, channeling his energy into injury recovery and working with a familiar trainer in South Bend, Indiana.
Mizzou was on his radar after the Tigers’ breakout 2023 season, and a spring campus visit sold him on the program.
“Missouri, last year and ever since (head coach Eli Drinkwitz) got here, all these guys have really bought into the program,†Pyne said. “I saw that after I came and visited and met with the coaches and watched practice.â€
When Pyne took in an MU practice, he watched with the observant eyes of an experienced quarterback. He noticed a niche selling point of the Tigers offense.
“I realized when I came to practice, when I came to watch it, if we would check a play or if anything changed (pre-snap), all the receivers would do their adjustment,†he said. “Usually, the quarterback has to look around (and make sure) — but everyone was so bought in and everyone’s so locked in on the playbook. You can just tell.â€
Pyne’s relationship with Cook also helped. They participated in the Manning Passing Academy together, which established a connection.
“It was familiar when I came and visited and hung out with him and asked him some questions,†Pyne said. “He’s a vet too, so we’re the same age. He shot me straight with everything.â€
After that visit, Pyne’s mind seemed made up.
“The values that this program has and that Coach Drink has created is something that I was really looking for,†he said. “And this opportunity to learn in this offense and be under Coach (Kirby) Moore, who is an incredible offensive coordinator, is something that I’m very, very appreciative of.â€
Because of eligibility preserved through the NCAA’s bonus COVID-19 year in 2020, a redshirt in 2021 and a medical redshirt for 2023, Pyne can play three more years of college football. Backing up Cook this season will use one of those, but Pyne could remain at Mizzou for 2025 and 2026 if he so chooses.
That’s a factor in the eventual need to find a successor for Cook, who’s entering his last season. Sam Horn, last year’s backup who’s out for this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, may also compete for the job. The likes of Aidan Glover, a current freshman, and Matt Zollers, a verbal commit for the 2025 recruiting class, could be in the mix too. And there’s always the potential for another competitor to arrive next winter via the transfer portal.
But speaking ahead of his first official practice with the Tigers, Pyne wasn’t ready to look that far into the future.
Safety Roche arrested
Missouri safety Phillip Roche was arrested Monday night in Columbia, Missouri, after three separate warrants were issued for failing to appear in court.
Roche, 19, is set to begin his sophomore season with Mizzou. He was booked at 11:49 p.m. after being arrested by the MU police department, according to Boone County Sheriff’s Department records. He was released and present at Missouri’s Tuesday morning practice.
It isn’t clear whether the team will suspend Roche.
“The program is handling the situation through normal university processes,†program spokesperson Dave Matter wrote in a text message. In the past, university policy has required any MU athlete who has been arrested to serve a minimum one-week suspension, but the current iteration of the school’s student-athlete handbook is not publicly available.
All three of the warrants issued for Roche were issued earlier this month following a string of citations for speeding offenses earlier this year and ensuing missed court appearances.
He has been charged with three Class B misdemeanors for exceeding the speed limit by more than 20 mph. No pleas have been entered because he has yet to appear in court.
Shortly after midnight on March 30, a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer cited Roche for driving 107 mph along a stretch of Interstate 70 in Columbia, where the speed limit is 60 mph, according to a probable cause statement.
Two days later, MU police cited Roche for failing to obey a traffic control device that indicated a closed university campus.
At 1:50 a.m. on April 7, a highway patrol officer cited Roche for driving 115 mph along U.S. 63 in Columbia, where the speed limit is 70 mph, according to a probable cause statement.
On June 15, a Boone County sergeant cited Roche for driving 62 mph on a part of Stadium Boulevard bordering the MU campus, where the speed limit is 40 mph.
Separately, during a May 9 accident on I-70 in St. Charles where the highway patrol responded, Roche followed another car too closely and struck the rear of it, according to a citation issued from that incident.
Roche has failed to appear for at least eight court hearings across five outstanding cases, according to court records, prompting prosecutors to request the warrants.
After Monday’s arrest, he was released on his own recognizance, according to the Boone County sheriff’s office, which means he has promised to appear in court for all scheduled court dates.
Mizzou players reported for preseason camp Sunday.
Roche appeared in 11 games last year, mostly on special teams, though he carved out a role as a blitz-heavy defensive back later in the season. He hails from Crown Point, Indiana.